ET-Plus Guardrail End Terminal |
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Gregory G. Nadeau
Federal Highway Administration
December 24, 2014
[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 247 (Wednesday, December 24, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 77595-77596]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-30081]
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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Federal Highway Administration
[Docket No. FHWA-2014-0039]
ET-Plus Guardrail End Terminal
AGENCY: Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), Department of
Transportation (DOT).
ACTION: Notice; Request for Information.
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SUMMARY: The purpose of this notice is to request data and information
regarding the ET-Plus guardrail end terminal (ET-Plus) manufactured by
Trinity Industries, Inc. (Trinity). In 2005, the FHWA determined that
ET-Plus guardrail end terminal met the relevant crash test criteria and
therefore was eligible for Federal-aid highway funding. This fall, a
jury issued a verdict that Trinity made a false or fraudulent claim to
FHWA when it sought the eligibility determination for the ET-Plus.
Additionally, a number of parties have raised concerns about the in-
service performance of the ET-Plus and the potential variability in the
dimensions of installed units of the ET-Plus. As a result, FHWA is
undertaking a number of efforts to assess these issues. The FHWA is
seeking technical information and data to assist in this work.
DATES: Data and information must be submitted to FHWA on or before
February 9, 2015.
ADDRESSES: Mail or hand deliver data and information to the U.S.
Department of Transportation, Dockets Management Facility, Room W12-
140, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE., Washington, DC 20590, or fax comments
to (202) 493-2251. Alternatively, data or information may be submitted
to the Federal eRulemaking portal at http://www.regulations.gov. Please
note that the Federal eRulemaking portal is unable to receive videos or
any document larger than 10MB. If you would like to submit a video or a
document that is 10MB or larger, please directly contact one of the
individuals identified in this notice. All data and information must
include the docket number that appears in the heading of this document.
All data and information received will be available for examination and
copying at the above address from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., e.t., Monday
through Friday, except Federal holidays. Those desiring notification of
receipt of data and information must include a self-addressed, stamped
postcard or you may print the acknowledgment page that appears after
submitting comments electronically. Anyone is able to search the
electronic form of all information in any one of our dockets by the
name of the individual submitting the information (or signing the
information, if submitted on behalf of an association, business, or
labor union). The DOT solicits comments from the public to better
inform its activities. The DOT posts these comments, without edit,
including any personal information the commenter provides, to
www.regulations.gov, as described in the system of records notice (DOT/
ALL-14 FDMS), which can be reviewed at www.dot.gov/privacy.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mike Griffith, Office of Safety, 202-
366-9469, mike.griffith@dot.gov, Federal Highway Administration, 1200
New Jersey Avenue SE., Washington, DC 20590. For legal questions,
please
[[Page 77596]]
contact Jennifer Mayo, Assistant Chief Counsel, FHWA Office of the
Chief Counsel, (202) 366-1523, or via email at jennifer.mayo@dot.gov,
Federal Highway Administration, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE., Washington,
DC 20590.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Electronic Access and Filing
You may submit or retrieve information online through the Federal
eRulemaking portal at: www.regulations.gov. The Web site is available
24 hours each day, 365 days each year. Electronic submission and
retrieval help and guidelines are available under the help section of
the Web site.
An electronic copy of this document may also be downloaded from
Office of the Federal Register's Web site at: http://www.archives.gov/federal_register and the Government Printing Office's Web site at:
http://www.gpoaccess.gov.
Background
As a national leader in highway safety, FHWA is responsible for
ensuring that America's roads continue to remain among the safest in
the world. This commitment to safety is the principle that guides all
our efforts, and FHWA is acting on multiple fronts to ensure the safety
of roadside safety hardware and, specifically, the ET-Plus guardrail
end terminal.
The FHWA's strategy includes a data-driven determination regarding
the performance of the ET-Plus and reviewing our existing processes for
assessing the safety of roadside safety hardware to determine whether
we need to change them.
Most immediately, we need to reach a conclusion about the
performance of the ET-Plus based on the data we are collecting and
reviewing. Our first step is to review all previous crash tests of the
device and to obtain new testing to ensure that the ET-Plus meets the
National Cooperative Highway Research Program test criteria (NCHRP 350)
test criteria applicable to this device. These tests, along with field
measurements of installed devices, will help confirm that the at least
200,000 ET-Plus devices on the system met the same criteria as all
other guardrail end treatments. We expect to receive, review, and make
the crash test results public in early 2015, after the completion of
the testing and our review of the data. If the ET-Plus end terminal
fails the crash tests or FHWA otherwise determines that the ET-Plus
poses safety concerns to the traveling public, FHWA will revoke the
eligibility letter for the device.
More broadly, FHWA is reviewing multiple sources of information we
have collected to assess whether the ET-Plus has vulnerabilities
outside of the NCHRP 350 testing now being conducted. The review of
this information will help FHWA determine whether to require additional
testing of the ET-Plus or other devices in the same class.
Another key component of FHWA's ongoing efforts is to evaluate the
in-service performance of the ET-Plus. We are collecting a broad array
of data to support this assessment. The FHWA asked all State DOTs to
send us information regarding the performance of the ET-Plus on their
roadways. Additionally, we have obtained information about the ET-Plus
that was presented in the recent trial in Texas, as well as data
received from parties involved in the trial. We have analyzed our own
safety data and data from our Federal safety partners, including the
Motor Vehicle Crash Causation Study, the Highway Safety Information
System, and the Fatality Analysis Reporting System. We will objectively
and thoroughly assess all of this information to reach a data-driven
conclusion about the real-world performance of the ET-Plus.
Purpose of This Notice
As part of our information gathering about crashes involving the
ET-Plus guardrail end terminal, FHWA is seeking data and information
regarding the in-service performance of the ET-Plus. In particular, we
are seeking two sets of data and information. First, we are asking for
any data and information concerning vehicle crashes involving the ET-
Plus. Second, we are asking for any data and information about the
dimensions of the ET-Plus as installed along roadways.
1. ET-Plus Crash Data and Information. The FHWA is seeking data and
information concerning vehicle crashes involving the ET-Plus. We are
seeking crash reports, photographs of damaged ET-Plus devices at crash
scenes, photographs of vehicles at crash scenes that impacted ET-Plus
devices, and crash reconstruction reports with corresponding data. The
type of data and information we are requesting includes, but is not
limited to the following:
Crash narratives;
Crash diagrams;
Severity of the crash as noted in the crash report
(Killed, A injury, B injury, etc.);
The approximate mass, speed, and angle of impact of the
vehicle;
The orientation of the vehicle as it impacted the terminal
(head-on, side-impact, front corner, etc.);
The location of the crash (State, route, county, mile
marker);
The type of road on which the crash occurred;
The weather at the time of the crash;
The condition of the shoulder and/or roadside at the time
of the crash;
The installation and maintenance history of the terminal;
and
The condition of the terminal prior to the impact.
2. ET-Plus Dimensions as Installed. The FHWA is seeking data
concerning the dimensions of the ET-Plus devices installed on highways.
In particular, we are interested in a few key dimensions: Channel
width, exit gap, guide chute exit height, and outside guide channel
length. We also are interested in any other dimensions that could be
useful in determining the in-service performance of the ET-Plus. We are
asking for existing data and information that the public may have and
are not asking the public to undertake any activities that may risk the
safety of themselves or others.
The FHWA plans to objectively and thoroughly assess all data and
information provide to us. We ask that any data or information be
provided on or before February 9, 2015.
Paperwork Reduction Act
Under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA) (44 U.S.C. 3501, et
seq.), Federal agencies must obtain approval from the Office of
Management and Budget (OMB) for each collection of information they
conduct, sponsor, or require through regulations. This action contains
a collection of information requirement under the PRA. This information
collection requirement has been previously submitted to OMB for
approval, pursuant to the provisions of the PRA. The requirement has
been approved through May 31, 2017; OMB Control No. 2125-0025.
Authority: 23 U.S.C. 148 and 315.
Issued on: December 18, 2014.
Gregory G. Nadeau,
Acting Administrator, Federal Highway Administration.
[FR Doc. 2014-30081 Filed 12-23-14; 8:45 am]
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